In the late twentieth century, humankind's fear of its genetic brethren - homo sapiens superior, men and women gifted with super-human powers - exploded into full-blown hysteria. As the flames of intolerance grew, the United States government - lead by Senator Robert Kelly - took steps to contain what they saw as the "mutant threat." Thus, Sentinels were constructed - androids with the technology to hunt down and exterminate those born with the X-Factor gene. Each time these cybernetic monstrosities appeared, the X-Men battled to stop them - but it was only a matter of time before the conflict engulfed both humanity and mutants, and the Sentinels grew too powerful. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the landscape of North America is far different. The United States are now little more than a confederation of local puppet regimes controlled by the Sentinels, and its once proud people have been reduced to scavenging for survival. That is, except for a small band of mutants...